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Book of Life

Hi,

Just trying to understand your understanding of what is the Book of Life. Is it a Book whereby:
1) all those who died are registered and those who are evil, their names will be blotted out.
2) only those names of God's people will be recorded.
3) those people who are not yet born, are their names also recorded?
4) Is there a difference between the book of life and the Lamb's book of life?
5) Are there other books beside the book of life?

* Note : the book of life to me is analogous to a computer record of all birth and deaths; the only difference is that the dead are separated as good and evil. The following are my personal answers:
1) The book of life is a record of all deaths, only those who are evil their names will be blotted out or erased.
2) It includes all the names of God's people who are alive or dead.
3) Those who are not yet born, their names will not be recorded; only those who are/were alive and dead.
4) There is no difference between the book of life or the Lamb's book of life. However, I believe there is a difference in the meaning, "whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world" which seems to suggest those who are not yet born.
5) There seems to be other books besides the book of life. I believe the names of evil people will be recorded in another book but not the book of life.

The followings are what I have collated on the book of life for your reference:

1. Psalm 69:28 May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.

2. Philippians 4:3
Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

3. Revelation 3:5
He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.

4. Revelation 13:8All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.

5. Revelation 17:8
The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.

6. Revelation 20:12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

7. Revelation 20:15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

8. Revelation 21:27Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

9. Daniel 12:1
"'That's when Michael, the great angel-prince, champion of your people, will step in. It will be a time of trouble, the worst trouble the world has ever seen. But your people will be saved from the trouble, every last one found written in the Book. Many who have been long dead and buried will wake up, some to eternal life, others to eternal shame.

10. Ezekiel 33:14
"'On the other hand, if I tell a wicked person, "You'll die for your wicked life," and he repents of his sin and starts living a righteous and just life—being generous to the down-and-out, restoring what he had stolen, cultivating life-nourishing ways that don't hurt others—he'll live. He won't die. None of his sins will be kept on the books. He's doing what's right, living a good life. He'll live.

11. Isaiah 26:11
You hold your hand up high, God, but they don't see it. Open their eyes to what you do, to see your zealous love for your people. Shame them. Light a fire under them. Get the attention of these enemies of yours. God, order a peaceful and whole life for us because everything we've done, you've done for us. O God, our God, we've had other masters rule us, but you're the only Master we've ever known. The dead don't talk, ghosts don't walk, Because you've said, "Enough—that's all for you," and wiped them off the books. But the living you make larger than life. The more life you give, the more glory you display, and stretch the borders to accommodate more living!

12. Job 3:3
"Obliterate the day I was born. Blank out the night I was conceived! Let it be a black hole in space. May God above forget it ever happened. Erase it from the books! May the day of my birth be buried in deep darkness, shrouded by the fog, swallowed by the night. And the night of my conception—the devil take it! Rip the date off the calendar, delete it from the almanac. Oh, turn that night into pure nothingness— no sounds of pleasure from that night, ever! May those who are good at cursing curse that day. Unleash the sea beast, Leviathan, on it. May its morning stars turn to black cinders, waiting for a daylight that never comes, never once seeing the first light of dawn. And why? Because it released me from my mother's womb into a life with so much trouble.

13. 2 Peter 1:5
So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

The book of life is a record of all the righteous of every age, their names appeared in the book before creation began (predestination). In this present age of the church, the names of the dead in Christ and those living in Christ were in the book of life before they were born. The names of all the wicked never have or will ever appear in the book of life.

The meaning of names not written in the book of life from the creation of the world” refers to the wicked. Before creation the names of the righteous were written in the book of life, at the creation of the world the names of the wicked were left out of the book.

At the great white judgment of the wicked when the book of life is opened they will realize their names are not in the book and be cast into the lake of fire. The dead will be judged according to their works or what that had done as recorded in the books. One book of life, many books recorded their works.

The book of life is a record of all the righteous of every age, their names appeared in the book before creation began (predestination). In this present age of the church, the names of the dead in Christ and those living in Christ were in the book of life before they were born. The names of all the wicked never have or will ever appear in the book of life.

The meaning of names not written in the book of life from the creation of the world” refers to the wicked. Before creation the names of the righteous were written in the book of life, at the creation of the world the names of the wicked were left out of the book.

At the great white judgment of the wicked when the book of life is opened they will realize their names are not in the book and be cast into the lake of fire. The dead will be judged according to their works or what that had done as recorded in the books. One book of life, many books recorded their works.

Hi P-nut,

Welcome to the Forum!

You seems to suggest pre-destination in which our fate were all decided beforehand. This is something which I am somewhat disagreeable. Let's look at the meaning of "names not written in the book of life from the creation of the world”:

Revelation 13:8All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.[b]

Revelation 17:8All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.[b]

"All whose names have not been written" suggest something future (in the future tense) and there is nothing to indicate a wicked generation. It probably means a future generation of people who have not been born yet and therefore whose names have not been recorded in the Book of Life. Their names will only be recorded upon their death together with their works.

BTW, I have not rejected you suggestion of "All whose names have not been written" to mean a wicked generation whose names were blocked out of the Book of Life. I will meditate on it.

Don't confuse God's foreknowledge with predestination. Just because God always knew where every soul would wind up doesn't change the fact that the lost souls made choices in life that were purely their own and which sadly led to their destruction. Every lost soul had the same chance to repent that you did.

Don't confuse God's foreknowledge with predestination. Just because God always knew where every soul would wind up doesn't change the fact that the lost souls made choices in life that were purely their own and which sadly led to their destruction. Every lost soul had the same chance to repent that you did.

Hi DaveO,

Welcome to the forum! So far, I have enjoyed reading your posts and am impressed by your determination. But I would like to warn you that you are going against a Goliath, Richard the Lion-heart. BTW, you have my full support for I belong to the futurist group, or rather a Bible Wheel futurist-preterist. Hope things don't get too heated up. I believe you have never heard before; we have the mild preterist, the partial preterist, the full preterist and now a new category call the futurist-preterist . It's quite sad that preterists always see us futurists as opponents and vice versa; that's why I come up with this category of futurist-preterist to try and "dilute" that contention for we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.

I agree with you that God's foreknowledge should not be confused with predestination. It's rather scary to think that everything including our fate has been pre-determined. It's like saying, there is no chance for repentence as whatever good or evil we do is fated and is already pre-determined. Then why are we here? Then why did Christ died for our sin since our fate is already determined regardless of our works? Thanks for the inspiration, brother. It inspired me to further believe that "All whose names have not been written in the book of life since the time of creation" means a future generation of people who have not been born yet and therefore whose names have not been recorded in the Book of Life. Their names will only be recorded upon their death together with their works. The reason is because if people's fate has already been predetermined then all names would have been written in the book of life since the time of creation.

Christ had to die for the many chosen by God for salvation. His atoning work was sufficient for all mankind but only effective for the elect. Our fate in Christ was determined beforehand requiring God to send his Son to redeem his elect.

if people's fate has already been predetermined then all names would have been written in the book of life since the time of creation.

God would not of written the names of everyone in the book of life, that is universalism and not supported by Scripture. Original sin remains on those not chosen for salvation. Because of original sin there is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, none who seeks God (Rom 3:10-11). Because of original sin all mankind would have been condemned if God had not intervened to save the elect.

Here is a simple test for you to take, answer according to your convictions.

Of all those who receive him as Savior and believe in his name:

1. He gave them the right to become children of God. T or F

2. They are spiritually born again and not born of natural descent. T or F

3. It is a human decision. T or F

4. Your salvation is not determined by the husband’s will, but are born of God. T or F